Compound Growth

The periodic rate is the fundamental object. Everything else follows from compounding it.

$10,000
5.00%
10 years (10 periods)
Future Value: $16,288.95
Total Interest Earned: $6,288.95
Growth Multiple: 1.629x
Periodic Rate: 5.000%
EAR (annualized): 5.000%
The Right Thing
FV = PV × (1 + rper)N
rper = rate per period
N = total number of periods
EAR = (1 + rper)m − 1   where m = periods per year
The EAR is just the periodic rate compounded up to a year. It's the honest answer to "what annual rate does this investment actually earn?" No tricks, no conventions -- just compounding.
Year Value Growth That Year Cumulative Interest